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Gender roles and relations in ancient greece
Modern greek mythology
Gender roles and relations in ancient greece
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Myth Reflective Response Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society. Throughout all Greek myths, the gods were always created in the image of man. This shows how Greeks viewed men in a positive way and thought that they were more powerful and superior to women. In addition, they thought men and women are unequal and that men were given jobs that required more physical strength. Although women played a role in Greek myths, they were not as important as men. Women had a more easier and feminine jobs than men. In the Greek creation myth, we see Hades as the god of underworld and Aphrodite as the goddess of love. The difference between th... ... middle of paper ... ...ed was a reaction of these gods. In contrast, in modern society, a very small amount of people believe in numerous gods and that every god has a specific job or role in life. Nevertheless, the religious beliefs of the Greeks then and people in modern society are similar in a way. Both societies believe that gods are the higher power in life and that they are superior to others. In conclusion, myths reflect show us the Greeks view on the world, religion, and nature. Their understanding of the world is both similar and different compared to modern society. Myths also reflect the importance of gods in the Greek society and how each god represented something different. In addition, we can see the role of monsters in myths, what they represent and how were they important. Myths also show us the role of women in society and whether they were as important as men or not.
Many authors have employed the religious beliefs of their cultures in literature. The deities contained in Homer’s Odyssey and in the Biblical book of Exodus reflect the nature of the gods in their respective societies. Upon examination of these two works, there are three major areas where the gods of the Greek epic seem to directly contrast the nature of the God of the Israelites: the way problems are solved, the prestige and status that separates the divine from the masses, and the extent of power among the immortal beings.
Mythology is critical to Greek people’s everyday life, just like how religion is in our modern day age. Everyday events, such as a thunderstorm, can be linked to a god or goddess. For example, when an earthquake would happen, it would be Poseidon crashing his tritan on the ground. People’s lives revolved around the whole ideology and it served as a way to explain the unexplained and to help them in times of need. All of the stories of these great gods and goddesses were passed down generation through generation, each time becoming more extreme and distorted.
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
The act of studying mythology can be an extremely unifying thing. For humans as a species, myths connect us with our collective history by allowing us to see through the eyes of our ancestors. Potentially much more than in novels, myths allow us to enter into the ancient world on a deeper level; through them we are exposed to the popular worldview and superstitions of the day. The inner workings of ancient human beings are visible, and it becomes strikingly clear that they were not all that different than we are. They experienced similar hopes and fears, they felt the rapturous beauty of falling in love, and cursed the crushing pangs of loss. They missed loved ones when they were away, anxiously counting the days and watching the horizons for their return. Seeing, breathing, speaking creatures, they were living, emotional beings. Their hearts vigorously pumped lifeblood through their capillaries until the day of their death. (Ellwood, 9)
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.
Originally the Romans and the Greeks worshiped a lot of gods linked to the forces of nature. To be influenced by other people, they introduce new goods. The religious freedom is a particular side of the freedom of expression, representing the free and intellectual individual will of binding and choosing or not a religion. The particular aspect consists in that religion is not limited by its transposition in faith, but gives rise to practices ensuring the free exercise of religion. One of the most extremely felt, dominant and a significant force in civilization is religion. Religious thinking inspires human action and religious groups to put in order their shared religious expressions. The ancient Greek and Roman culture had an intensely rooted spiritual background and all the citizens were intensely spiritual. The gods and goddesses who they believed in have stories about them. The stories have helped everyone to learn on how things were created and to learn about the two cultures. Religious expressions let people to liberally express his or her knowledge through re...
Aphrodite and Athena were both great powerful women who were revered as goddesses in greek mythology. They both were greatly worshipped, however due to their distinct personality traits they were worshipped and spoken about and very different ways. Both goddesses are immortal and female, and both seem to distinguish the incongruous gender roles between men and women throughout ancient Greece. What makes these two goddesses interesting, however, is their differences, which will determine how they will be reflected in myth. On one hand you have Athena, the androgynous goddess of war and wisdom. On the other you have Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexuality. During this time, even among the immortals, women were seen as inferior and less
The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.
The gods and goddesses were thought to control different parts of the universe. For example, Zeus is the king of the gods, controlled weather. Or like Athena who was the goddess of wisdom. You learn about different gods and goddesses in myths. A myth is a story about a god or goddess. Homer, a blind poet, is famous for telling myths. He told myths because no one could read or write.
Travel back to the time of gods wielding thunder bolts and the power to move the Sun across the sky. Gladiator’s fought for blood in monumental arenas and men ran faster than thought possible. Where a crown of olive branches was worth more than a wagon-load of gold. A time when men combined their strength to lift tons of stone more than 50 feet in the air to construct immense temples and monuments that would last thousands of years to come. This is Ancient Greece during its Golden Age.
In considering the relationship between the meanings of myths and their representation of women, we learned that the major role in shaping the narratives was played by men. Myths reveal to us the experiences of women living in the patriarchal society and we gain the symbol value accorded to women and we come to realize what the term "Woman" meant to the ancient Greek man. Reading through the various stories on Goddesses and queens, monsters and more. Princesses, we learn that there are three major levels of women in Greek mythology. The first level is composed of the divine beings known as the goddesses.
In the Greek society women were treated very differently than they are today. Women in ancient Greece were not allowed to own property, participate in politics, and they were under control of the man in their lives. The goddess Aphrodite did not adhere to these social norms and thus the reason the earthly women must comply with the societal structure that was set before them. Aphrodite did not have a father figure according to Hesiod, and therefore did not have a man in her life to tell her what to do. She was a serial adulteress and has many children with many men other than her husband. She was not the only goddess from the ancient Greek myths to cause doubt in the minds of men. Gaia and the Titan Rhea rise up against their husbands in order to protect their children. Pandora, another woman in the Greek myths, shows that all evil comes from woman. Aphrodite, Gaia, Rhea, and Pandora cause the ancient Greek men to be suspicious of women because of her mischievous and wild behavior.
Mythology is an essential part of all cultures. Through myth, ancient cultures attempted to explain the world and make sense of their daily lives. Myth helps us to live in the minds and time period of people who lived many centuries ago with no technology, no running water, and a basic education. Greek myth is possibly the most commonly recognized myth simply because it is likely the most developed and best recorded. Modern Greek myth originated around 1000 B.C. in the writings of the famous Greek poet Homer in the Odyssey and the Illiad. Although early Greek myths are often vague and contain many primitive elements regarding their understanding of death, sacrifice, and fate, later myths show Greek culture developed and changed over time.
In The Iliad, the gods and goddesses have completely different roles. The females are usually the ones in the battle fighting, while the male gods are putting courage into hearts, but that isn’t to say that is all that they do. This is a completely different role than the mortals have. While the men are out in battle, the women are knitting and cooking. The women are also described so that it seems like they are property and not humans, and that they don’t have any feeling. Where the female gods act and are treated as if they are equal, if not ranked higher.
To begin with, the ancient Greeks explained the creation of the universe, in particular the Earth and its elements, by a system of anthropomorphism in which their gods are human-like and are representatives of these elements. For example, Zeus is the god of heaven while Hades is the underworld lord (Hesiod, p.145). Unlike the Christians’ god who is “flawless”, the ancient Greeks’ divinities are portrayed as humans and are far from perfect. Their gods behave like ordinary people except they are immortal and have supernatural powers. Like any human being, the Greeks’ gods have love, jealousy, sadness, etc. For instance, in Euripides’ Bacchae, Zeus falls in love with Semele, which makes Hera becomes jealous and tries to kill Semele and Dionysus (Euripides, p.209). The Greeks even have a physically imperfect god, Hephaestus. This is to say that the gods’ attitude toward mortals is affected by how people treat them as the Greeks’ gods have emotions like humans.